Image Credits: Imago Images
Liverpool’s summer is beginning to take shape even before the squad formally reports back.
With pre-season not getting underway until July 13 for the senior team, the academy side has already begun their preparations.
Wataru Endo, Giovanni Leoni and Stefan Bajcetic were the three senior figures spotted back early.
The full squad will reconvene on the 13th before heading to the United States for a tour that kicks off on July 25 against Sunderland in Nashville
But it is not just returning faces getting familiar with Kirkby. Liverpool’s academy account on X posted an image of new signing Ifeanyi Ndukwe arriving at the training ground on the first day of academy pre-season, the 18-year-old already in full Liverpool kit and looking every bit the part.
We’re back! 👋📌 pic.twitter.com/1rKYuIuJAr
— The LFC Academy (@LFCAcademyX) July 6, 2026
It is the first public glimpse of the Austrian centre-back as an official Liverpool player, and the expectation is that he will be loaned out during the 2026-27 season to gain regular, senior minutes.
Ndukwe’s arrival has actually been months in the making.
Liverpool agreed a deal in principle back in January to sign the defender from Austria Wien, with the transfer set for completion once he turned 18 in March and international clearance was secured.
The fee is reported to be around £2.6 million, with performance-related add-ons on top – a modest outlay for a player who was turning heads across Europe.
Standing at 6’5″, the Vienna-born centre-back was identified by Liverpool’s scouting network after impressing at the 2025 Under-17 World Cup, where he featured in seven of Austria’s eight matches as they finished as runners-up, losing narrowly to Portugal in the final
Born to a Nigerian father and Russian mother and raised in Vienna, Ndukwe signed his first professional contract with Austria Wien in June 2025 before Liverpool swooped to secure his services just months later.